Understanding B2B Online Influencers with Paul Gillin

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Paul Gillin talks about B2B online influencers. What motivates them, what they value, and what marketers can do to engage with them.

Paul Gillin has been reporting on the impacts of technology and media for 25 years. Before focusing full-time on social media, he was the founding editor-in-chief of Tech Target, one of the most successful new media entities to emerge on the internet.

Before that, he was editor-in-chief of Computerworld. He now advises marketing executives and CEOs on how to use the social media. Gillin’s latest book is titled, “The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media.” 

SHOW NOTES:

06:15 – Gillin describes his new book, The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media, and explains how building credibility, audience, and power in a market have changed with the proliferation of social media management tools.

09:43 – Small markets count. Marketers should not underestimate the value of a minor, focused audience regarding click-through rates.

11:18 – Marketing to social media markets differs from marketing through the mainstream media. In social media, the audience defines the message and marketers must engage the audience in a meaningful dialogue. Gillin illustrates how knowledge can make or break a company’s reputation.

12:00 – Gillin highlights a significant, “unstoppable trend” that every digital marketing and PR firm should to recognize.

13:22 – Gillin discusses last year’s AOL customer service debacle and how the power of social media can turn one event into a crisis management fiasco.

15:00 – The benefits of viral media through a brief case study of the Mommycast.

17:42 – Schwartzman points out that the new influencers aren’t limited by geographical boundaries, and their value to advertisers can be measured more by psychographics than demographics.

19:26 – Public relations firms and digital marketing agencies should consider ethical considerations when entering social media marketing.

20:17 – Gillin discusses the ethical standards of the blogosphere.

22:35 – Gillin addresses the common complaints concerning the lack of journalistic standards in blogging but shows how marketers can become comfortable with the format by focusing on its strengths.

23:50 – Gillin explains why newspapers are failing and why he thinks most metropolitan dailies will be out of business in twenty years.

26:44 – Gillin opines on the shortcomings of traditional journalistic standards.

28.08 – About Gillin’s podcast series for tech PR agency professionals, Tech PR War Stories.

30:10 – End.